Month: November 2015

So….. there’s Storm Abigail incoming with a storm warning out for 80 mph winds over Scotland until Thursday night. That’s the same wind speed as a category 1 hurricane! I was meant to drive to Inverness on Thursday. I’ll wing it!

I stopped at the tastiest coffee shop on the planet for Eggs Benedict & inhaled a divine cuppa coffee. Seriously, I am going to eat my way through their menu while I’m here. Pay the chef whatever he wants; he’s worth every penny and then some!

It’s November 11, 2015 and it’s Remembrance Day (Veteran’s Day for the US). I headed up to Prince’s Street to the Scott Monument and there were poppy crosses everywhere. To see so many crosses planted in the ground, in perfect rows left me choked up. There was an elderly gentleman wearing his medals, standing at one of the memorials; probably for people he knew and lost. Of course, there was a bagpiper playing Amazing Grace, which had me sobbing my eyes out watching the old man. God, it’s heart-wrenching.

Once I pulled myself back together, I walked down behind the Memorial and saw an old guy slipping down the muddy embankment into the Gardens. I went to help him back up but he was quite stubborn. He was busy feeding the squirrels so had one hand clutching a bag of peanuts.

We chatted for a while. What a riot! He gave me some peanuts to feed to the squirrels, giving instructions on how to hold it out to them. Well the one damn squirrel bit my finger. ‘Och aye, that one’s a wee devil. The other one is better, he always waits for 2 nuts. If it’s the one that waits, ye’ll be fine. If it’s the other one, he’ll be having ye, lass. Ye cannae tell by looking at them, wee fluffy bastards.’ Well thanks, Scottie. I got the renegade squirrel.

I told him I was heading up to Culloden and Loch Ness on Friday. I told him how much I love the lakes in Scotland, at which point I was informed, ‘There’s only 1 lake in Scotland, lassie.’ Uh……. are you sure? Because there look to be a shit ton of them from the map I’m looking at!

‘Aye, lochs. Dinnae confuse them for lakes, wee lassie. There’s but 1 lake, named for an Englishman, Lake Menteith. Curses to the English, they’ll no have a loch here!’ This guy’s militant irritation with the English had me rolled up laughing, squirrel bite or not.

I left him after a while and took a stroll up to Calton Hill. What a view! I sat on one of the benches for the longest time, listening to the bagpipes from the city below. I met a guy from Alabama and we sat chatting for a while. He’s decided he’s done with Alabama and is in Scotland looking for a house up the coast somewhere. Smart man!

It started getting a tad chilly so I headed back down Prince’s Street, up the Mound, over the Royal Mile and down to the Grassmarket. I pulled into The Last Drop Inn for a pint of hobgoblin and a plate of haggis, neeps and tatties. First time trying haggis and it was delicious! Very unexpected.

Tomorrow I’m off to pick up the rental car and head off to Rosslyn Chapel. It’s going to be epic!

For someone who isn’t nervous flying, I was freaking the hell out this morning! I didn’t sleep a wink last night so needless to say, Mykal had me chugging diet coke on the way to the airport at the crack of sparrow’s fart. I don’t know whether it’s the fear of doing this trip solo, or because I’m finally going to the place I’ve craved all year; what if it’s not how I remember it?

The flight was uneventful and I was met by the prebooked taxi. Walking through Edinburgh airport and hearing Scotties everywhere was brilliant! How I’ve missed that accent! You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

I met my AirBnB host, Andy, outside his office and he took me back to his flat. What his ad failed to mention is that he’s on the 3rd floor (4th floor to Muricans), up REALLY narrow, worn down tenement stairs. I’m fairly sure those stairs are older than America. I really need to master the art of packing light. I was knackered just getting up the stairs.

After a quick tour around the apartment and figuring out how everything works, I unpacked my stuff and headed to the coffee shop on the corner, Loudon’s.

Oh.My.God. The BEST cream tea I’ve had in forever!! A pot of decent tea, a warm scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream and I’m pretty sure I made sex noises. Pure nirvana on a plate! I will be eating my way through their menu while I’m here. I packed stretchy pants so just sit back and watch, people.

After warming up on tea, my camera and I headed up towards the Royal Mile. It’s about 0.8 miles from the flat. Yes, it was drizzling. It’s Scotland. Seeing the Castle up on the hill was as breathtaking as it was on my previous trips. That wee fortress has dominated the top of that cliff for centuries. I did forget the sheer volume of stairs in this city. That cream tea was worked off in short order.

I didn’t really have anything planned for day 1, other than settling in and finding my way around so I just mulled around on the Royal Mile. I stopped at St. Giles Cathedral. It was my first time there and there are no words to describe how absolutely stunning it is.

It was built in the 15th century and has certainly stood the test of time. For £2 you can take photos inside the Cathedral. I snapped a ton of pics but my camera battery died before I got to the Thistle Chapel. It didn’t occur to me to charge my camera before I left London. Rookie mistake.

No fear, I’ll be back here again before I leave.

I spent the afternoon strolling down the Royal Mile and popped in to the Wyrd Shoppe, opposite the Tollbooth Tavern. If you like incense, crystals and all things mythical, this wee shop is worth a visit. I’ll be back here too. My sister wants a chalice so I want to check which one she wants before buying.

After a few miles on the ol’ boots, I stopped at the Fiddler’s Arms and had some Scotch. The barman’s taste in scotch was pretty damn great! I tried the Aberfeldy 12 and Belvenie 12 – both amazing whiskies.

After warming up from the inside, I headed back to the flat after stopping at Tesco to pick up some wine and curry for dinner. Early night for me, camera is charging and tomorrow is another day. Sitting under the covers, it’s difficult to remember what I was so stressed about this morning.